About the Wren - as we start to build some.

History of the Wren

We have always loved this dainty 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive. It was the first 16mm model offered by Wrightscale; 190 models later we are about to produce a new batch. Creating these has always been a learning experience. The current batch is the 4th iteration,  we are not afraid to modify and improve as we go along. The new batch will feature a revised cylinder block. The model is now that bit closer to an accurate minature of the real thing. Working steam models of the Wren have been offered in various scales. Experienced constructors in the smaller scales, though, have always regarded it as a difficult engine and have modified their models to make costruction easier, to the point where the 'model' becomes a 'pastiche' - no harm in such, but when they depart too far from the original, something is lost.   

16mm model 0-4-0 Wren made by Wrightscale based on Kerr Stuart No 4560. It incorporates a number of improvements which were made after an initial batch of models.

 Kerr, Stuart and Co Ltd

The Wren was just one of the classes of narrow gauge locomotive produced by Kerr, Stuart and Co Ltd of Stoke on Trent, Staffs. With their good Scots names, you will not be surprised to learn that the company, then a partnership, originated in Glasgow. James Kerr and John Stuart acted as agents for other manufacturers. In 1892, they took over the California Works in Stoke and went into manufacture. Their ‘unique sales proposition’ was narrow gauge, built partly off-the-shelf and then customised to order. Kerr Stuart also produced rolling stock. Until then, if users wanted speedy delivery of narrow gauge locomotives, they had to buy what was available second-hand. 

Another view of the Wrightscale Wren (new type) The most common livery for the prototype was black or green

 The Wren class shows many typical Kerr Stuart design features. It was a company habit to incorporate features from one class in another, and so, for example, side tank locomotives often had variants with saddle tank or tenders. Other classes included Midge and Skylark and the more military sounding Tattoo and Waterloo, not to mention the Darwin and Brazil classes. After World War 1, the company produced standard gauge locomotives. See below.

More Wrens were sold than any other model. Although it was not the smallest locomotive Kerr Stuart built, with a weight of only 4 tons (Imperial) 3 hundred weight in steam, it deserved the name of ‘Wren’.

Wren Development

Kerr Stuart No 850 was an 0-4-0 saddle tank built to the gauge of 2’ 1 ¾ “ It was constructed in 1903 for the Southend Gas Company. She appears to have been the prototype for the ‘Buya’ class – which was usually 3’/75cm. She was also the pattern for a ‘standard type of engine to be called Wren’ (Instructions from the London Office to Stoke on Trent on 1^st February 1905.) No 850 was, thus, also a fore-runner of the Wren.

Kerr Stuart No 888 was Wren no 1, delivered to the Admiralty in March 1905. It was gauged at 2’6”. For Wrens of a more narrow gauge, modifications were needed. In order to fit the firebox within the frames of a 2’ gauge locomotive, the boiler and firebox, as used on no 888 had to be redesigned. In all, 132 were built to 2’ gauge and eleven to 60cm gauge. Although I often write as if 2’ (60.1cm) gauge and 60cm are interchangeable, some modification was necessary if one were to be used on the other track. 2’ gauge wheels would be a ‘tight fit’ on 60cm.

Maker's photograph of No 2462 'new type' Copyright Courtesy of Armley Museum, Leeds. It has Hackworth valve gear, and it is on the 'new type' that our models are based. The batch of models on the Wrightscale stocks will include a more accurate cylinder block, closer to the original

Early locomotives had Stephenson’s links – and are known as ‘old’ type. After K,S 2423 the ‘new’ type was introduced with outside Hackworth valve gear (and attendant modifications) although some old types continued to be ordered. KS No 2458 of 1915 appears to have been the first of this kind. The boiler had to be raised slightly to accommodate the reversing shaft in its new position.

To my mind, though this is personal, I think that the ‘new type’ Wren has a lighter and more elegant appearance.

Very early Wrens had one-piece cast steel wheels. There are obvious advantages to supplying the locomotives with tyres and so most ‘old’ and ‘new’ types went over to cast iron wheel centres with steel tyres.

AnotherWrightscale model construction number 256

 

There were usually a few ‘Wrens’ on the stocks in the factory – typically, they were built in batches of six but were not finished until the gauge the customer required was known. Some orders were for a gauge as small as 1’6 1/8” and the firebox had to be raised (among other alterations). Others were for 915mm gauge (36 ½”). 

'Indaya' Kerr Stuart No 1041. Copyright Courtesy Armley Industrial Museum This 'old type' Wren has been modified for oil-burning and for tramway running. It has Stephenson's links.

Coal was the standard fuel for these little steam engines, but not invariably. Kerr Stuart no 909 (1905) had steel trellis fitted to the bunkers for holding wood. In 1908, nos 1041 and 1042 were supplied to South America as oil burners. They had extra water capacity as well as oil burning equipment. They were supplied with a special small additional boiler for turning over the engine to start it. They were required for a steam tramway, and so wheels and motion were enclosed. There is a fine maker’s photograph of No 1041 INDAYA.

Wrens were exported to quarries and mines over the world.

The First World War

From 1914-18, Wrens did ‘War Service’ though mainly for construction works, and almost always in 2’ gauge. Three went to the Falkland Islands, then a Naval Coaling station and no 2462 was sent to Archangel, Russia. The ‘new type’ Wren had just been introduced; it is fair to suggest that the War Office encouraged the introduction of the cheaper design feature.

Another KS introduction of the time was the ‘Joffre’ 0-3-0T locomotive, ordered early in the War and built to French specifications in 60cm gauge.

As the author of Colonel Péchot: Tracks To The Trenches, I have always believed that the French military railways – designed in the 19^th century by Prosper Péchot – heavily influenced subsequent military railways of friend and foe.  Before the First World War, British ‘siege railways’ (ie portable railways for field duties) were all 2’6” gauge. As early as 1915, the Army became alive to the merits of 2’/60cm gauge, and when the War Department Light Railways were brought into official being in 1916, 60cm was the uncontroversial choice of gauge. In 1915, Wrens were being sent to Ripon and Catterick for construction work at Army sites.

No 3105 – 2’ gauge – was despatched in February 1918 and was used in constructing Kidbrooke Aerodrome near Birmingham. Circa 1935 it was purchased by the Leighton Buzzard Brick Co and photographs of the time show that it bore the HAIG nameplate.

Post War

After WW1, K,S & Co went into standard gauge manufacture. The trade received a boost from the grouping of British railways, receiving (for them) large orders from the GWR and LMS. From the late 20s, K,S went into the manufacture of diesel locomotives, though development was stopped when the company went into receivership.

PIXIE no 4560 photographed at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway by Malcolm Wright in 1980

Narrow gauge was not forgotten. Between 1922 and 23, a number of Wrens were delivered to R.H. Neal and Co for sewage construction works (we believe). Several were sold to Devon County Council for similar construction duties eg at the Wilminstone quarry. Some have survived. No 4250 – known these days as LORNA DOONE – was preserved by Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. No 4560 – PIXIE – was preserved by the Industrial Railway Society and then passed to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway to be brought back into working order.  From 1969 she has been a well-loved fixture. Another Wren, No 3114, was rescued by Alan Maund in 1959.

Hunslet took over the ‘goodwill’ of Kerr, Stuart when it closed in 1930. Hunslet based their range of diesel locomotives on K,S originals. In addition, four more Wrens were made – also to 2’ gauge. 

PIXIE, also photographed at Leighton Buzzard by Malcolm Wright

If you like your Wrens ‘stuffed and mounted’, the National Railway Museum, York has one, as does Birmingham.  This is how Malcolm prefers his National Treasures – safe from wear and tear. If, like me, you prefer to see them at work, PIXIE and PETER PAN still come out in steam on occasion. See below. Don’t intervene in arguments between man and wife, but perhaps a compromise position is best. The originals should be preserved, but good replicas should be put into steam as has been done with K,S Tattoo class  no 4047. A replica was created to work on the preserved Corris railway.

A Wren abroad

There is, nothing to compare with the delight of snapping a Wren survival in far-flung parts. In 1971, Basil Roberts saw a Wren, among other locomotives at the Srimaharacha timber works at Si (Sri) Racha, Thailand, about two hours from Bangkok. It was also seen by C.M. Jackson in 1984. He made the short walk through the port to the mill. By this time, the locomotives, including a Wren, a Brush 0-6-0, a Hudswell Clarke 0-4-2 and an Orenstein and Koppel 0-6-0, were laid up behind a fence and were clearly in retirement. The line had been built from the mill into the forest, in 1906, as Jackson was told. The gauge was 759mm gauge. No-one was quite sure when the locomotives were last used; before the date of the visit by Basil Roberts – we believe.

At the time of Jackson’s visit, timber was brought to the mill by lorries but he did see railways being used onsite.  Some diesel locomotives were at work within the factory, and small rolling stock, both trolley-type and slat-sided vehicles. Subsequent research showed the old railway line on an old Admiralty chart, running at least 10 miles/16 km into the hills. Wilf Simms also visited Srimaharacha that year and did some more rooting around.

All visitors have been told ‘Yes, you may look, but no, the locomotives are not for sale’

Kerr, Stuart nameplate courtesy of Armley Industrial Museum. This Wren, maker's number 2462 was destined for Archangel. This batch, nos 2458 to 2465 was among the most far-travelled of the Wrens, another going to Burma. This batch was also notable for being the first of the 'new' type.

Wrens at home

We had our own encounter with a Wren. This was PIXIE at Leighton Buzzard in 1980. The line is based at Page’s Park, Leighton Buzzard, and roughly 3 ½ miles long, taking in both urban and rural running. It had been originally opened as a quarry railway At the time it was possible to savour the a semi-industrial landscape as a sand pit still existed. In a little train headed by a PIXIE, we started out of Pages Park and then up a hill. Then steeply down and past modern industrial Leighton Buzzard. Past a certain celebrated roof-tile factory, there is a steep run up Marley’s Bank and then into Bedfordshire countryside, now housing. More fields, then a factory, then sand-pit workings marked the limit of the line.

Another 16mm Wrightscale model Wren, in red. 

Another Wren at work is PETER PAN at the North of England Open Air Museum, Beamish, Stanley, Co Durham. If you can’t get there, some nice u-tube shots show him at work doing what a Wren does best -  hauling skips!

Armley Industrial Museum, now known as the Leeds Industrial Museum, holds a treasury of Kerr Stuart records. Worth a visit!

Further reading: INDUSTRIAL RAILWAY RECORD no 5. This was published by the Birmingham Locomotive Club, now known as the Industrial Railway Society.

INDUSTRIAL RAILWAY RECORD no 104 (among others)

CONTINENTAL RAILWAY JOURNALs for 1996

Leighton Buzzard Light Railway Guide Book

Grace’s Guide

Meanwhile 1916-17 in the east

One hundred years ago, on the Western Front, both the Allies and the Germans reached stalemate on the Somme. Both sides had learned something. The Germans, under their new commander-in-chief von Hindenburg were going to take the initiative, and surprise the Allies in a most surprising way, but that is a story to come. The British were, among other things, learning the usefulness of tactical light railways, but still had to learn how to use them. The original inspiration for these 60cm gauge railways had been the work of Prosper Péchot.

These fine 1:19 scale models, one of a WD Baldwin 4-6-0T built by Wrightscale, and one of a WD Hunslet 4-6-0T built by Henry Holdsworth, appear in a photograph by Jim Hawkesworth. The locomotives appeared on the newly formed War Department Light Railways, in 1916 for the Hunslet, in 1917 for the Baldwin

This story is about the Balkan Front.

Everyone knows that the First World War started with the assassination of Arch-duke Franz Ferdinand. Austria declared war on Serbia, and a whole line of dominoes fell, one causing the collapse of the next. In no time at all, the whole of Europe and beyond were at war. But what became of the Serbs?

In 1915, they were still holding out, just, against the Austrians. The Serbians had mobilised instantly – they were fighting annihilation! The Austrians took longer and of course they had to make sure that the Slavs within their empire were not involved in this particular fight. Then Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and mobilised in September 1915. The Germans quickly sent them military advisers, who were hugely influential. That meant that Serbia was facing three Fronts – 300,000 Germans under von Gallwitz at the Danube; the same number of Austrians at the Drina and Sava rivers and now an army of 330,000 Bulgarians under General Yekov. The four Serbian armies had been reduced to 25,000 fighting troops. Things did not look good.

This photograph (taken in 1918) of captured Bulgarian equipment shows how thorough the German influence had been. In the centre can be seen portable railway track. The Germans had shared with them their 60cm technology, also based on Péchot's original ideas.  From 'Illustration' Courtesy MD Wright

In September, General Sarrail was sent to Greece with a relief force. Whoops! This army landed in Salonika (Thessaloniki) on the eastern side of Greece while Serbia is to the west. To be honest, they had a secondary aim which somehow became a primary one. They were keen to discourage the Greeks from throwing their lot in with the Central Powers; throughout the War, Greece was to be ‘an ambivalent Ally’ (Henniker's history of the Balkan Front). By October 1915. three French divisions and one British were on shore. This was not enough to crush the huge forces of the Central Powers but the Allies struck out westwards in the right sort of general direction. Soon they were entrenched along the lower Vardar river and by the end of October 1915, were into the mountains.

Western Serbia was now held by the Austrians, and in the south, the Bulgarians, facing the French. To the south-west, troops of the Central Powers were chasing the Serbs through rough country. In October, the Serbian remnant was in retreat. Most of the infra-structure had been destroyed in previous fighting. The Serbs had to clamber across semi-demolished bridges or ford swollen rivers. They set fire to what they could not carry and crossed into Albania. 

Smiling for the camera. Pictured soon after their harrowing retreat, these Serbs have been given food and new uniforms. Though young, they look like old men. 'Illustration'/courtesy MD Wright

Even their King Peter – Peter the 1^st Karageorgevitch – crossed into Albania not in a carriage but on a gun limber towed by oxen. In the mountains, he had to proceed on foot, like everyone else.

In the meantime, things were not going well for the forces who were supposed to relieve the Serbs. By December 1915, the Bulgarians had crossed the frontier as far as Monastir (modern Bitola). The Allies decided to retreat eastwards back to their base – Salonika. There were, it seems, plenty of locals who wanted them out altogether; the Turkish consulate was a target of suspicion.

French troops digging defensive trenches outside Salonika January 1916. General Sarrail is in the group looking on. 'Illustration'/Courtesy MD Wright

The Serbian survivors who reached the sea were rescued by French ships. They were landed, with a sizable French escort, at Corfu. Once again, this was without much reference to the Greeks who once again were told ‘Better us than the Germans’. Even the French had to admit that they had treated the Greeks as an enemy rather than neutral. ‘In the morning (of 11^th January) the stupefied Corfiots saw that they (French marines) had occupied the port’. (‘Illustration magazine). On the same day, French troops occupied the Achilleion on the island, a villa which was the personal property of Kaiser Wilhelm 11.

The French have advanced from Salonika. This supply column was photographed between Isthvor and Kastanjani south of Monastir. It idicates the problems of supply in the rough terrain.

So far, this has been a sorry story. The Serbs, greatly reduced in number, have come out of this best though Allied attempts to help have been so unsuccessful. The Greeks had been badly treated – even losing some of their territory. The Allies stayed on because, of course, the Greeks mustn’t lose any more territory to hostile action! Yet, this story ends well for the Allies, though not until 1918. The family of Péchot argue, quite cogently, that when finally the French had their 60cm railways in place, conditions for the battle of Monastir was possible. This in turn made a Serbian breakthrough possible, the Armistice with Bulgaria and finally the Armistice with Germany.  There is more in 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the trenches'

Somme September 1916 - the British Secret weapon?

On September 15th 1916, the British launched an attack on their Front north of the river Somme.  The French magazine 'Illustration' described the attack thus.
'The first English (sic)tanks enter the frontline. Vomiting fire, battering down all obstacles, shredding with ease any nest of barbed wire, the troops were accompanied that day by terrific machines. The appearance of these mechanical monsters engendered panic in the German ranks. In a few hours, the British lines were advanced by two kilometres. A wood, three villages and 4000 prisoners fell into the hands of our allies.'

This detail from a drawing by J. Simont shows a Mark 1 tank. The artist has accurately depicted the 'trail' - the two stabilising wheels supplementing the tracked main body. We can just see that this was the deign fitted with six machine guns. Other tanls were fitted with two six-pounder guns. It has been casmouflaged, to break up its outline. From 'Illustration' magazine, courtesy collection of M.D. Wright

The 'tank' was long in gestation and many have claimed to be father. In fact, in 1919, a special committee was set up to judge between competing claims between nineteen individuals! Names such as Winston Churchill, Swinton, Tritton were included.  H.G. Wells had written a story called the 'Land Ironclads' in 1903. In those days, Ironclad was a name given to battleships and the description 'land ship' and 'land destroyer' was often applied. The name 'tank' was meant to be a secret code designed to confuse the enemy.
I would like here to mention my great-grandfather, Gen L.C. Jackson in connection with the tank. From 1914 to 17, he was in the department of trench warfare. In September 1915, he had recruited my grandparents to work there. In October, my Granny recalled:
'I remembered my father-in-law coming home fuming one day because the Prime Minister, Mr Asquith, had come down to see the secret inventions they were trying out (the tank.). He had brought not only his wife Margot, but also his small schoolboy son Anthony with him. "Security" in those days was non-existent.' This story was recalled elsewhere, with other member's of the Asquith entourage named.

By September, the Germans defending in the Somme were already hard pressed. It says a tremendous amount for them that they were hanging on. After the War, Ernst Junger wrote 'Storm of Steel', a very patriotic account of his experiences. Even he used the phrase from Dante 'lasciate ogni speranza/abandon hope all ye' to describe the Somme:
'A man in a steel helmet reported to me as guide to escort my platoon to the reknowned Combles. .. I asked him what it was like...I heard a monotonous tale of crouching in shell holes with no one on either flank and no trenches communicating with the rear, of unceasing attacks, dead bodies littering the ground, of maddening thirst .. and more  besides. ... In front of us, the artillery fire rose to a higher and higher pitch. Lasciate ogni speranza.'

German prisoners (standing in the trench) guarded by French soldiers. From 'Illustration' magazine courtesy of M.D. Wright

The first attack, with troops following tanks as they broke down barbed wire etc had a dramatic effect. Yet once again, as before, the Germans adapted to the new pressure and soon the gains were minimal. Though historians criticise the British for their lack of success, the Germans clearly had great respect for their opponents. Soon after the first tank attack, German prisoners remarked of the new weapon that it was ganz gut/not half bad. In 1929, Ernst Junger was to say of the British:
'Of all the troops who were opposed to the Germans on the great battlefields the English (sic) were not only the most formidable but the manliest (sic) and most courageous'
While the tired waves vainly breaking
Seemed no painful inch to gain
Inland by creek and inlet making ....
The tank alone could not win the War. Much else was needed. Soon, the might of the USA was to join the Allies. Another new 'ally' was to be efficient trench transport. Up until the battle of the Somme, the British had been unwilling to invest in trench railways. During the battle they saw on their southern flank a smaller French force making equal or better advances than they did. Since 1888, the French had artillerie 88 railways, essentially a portable 60cm system which could be quickly laid and relaid wherever supplies and ammunition were needed. This had been designed by Propser Péchot, an officer in the French artillery - he was the first to grasp how vital they were to be. The British had some experience of these 60cm gauge railways - they inherited a few from the French. On 17th September, Sergeant Edward Miles noted in his diary:
'Phew!These three days seem like a nightmare. . We went up (to take Thiepval wood). We passed field guns wheel to wheel from Crucifix corner to Railway Alley (a trench leading to the front line').
There was always a jokey logic to these names. There were plenty of crosses in the Somme, from traditional 'Calvaires' to modern memorials. There were not so many railways.
At the same time, Allied aeroplanes and other military intelligence could have pointed out that the opposition were using trench railways to great effect, bringing much-needed supplies and reinforcements close to the German Front. In 1889, the Prussian army had begun to experiment with a 60cm system suspiciously similar to the French one. Grasping its potential, they soon moved ahead of their rivals, but they had clearly copied much.
Early in August, a circular emerged from the British Quartermaster General's office. 'Find a substitute for motor transport. Light railways are to be used as soon as possible' What the French and Germans had spent years preparing could not be built up overnight. Sir Eric Geddes, Trouble-shooter-in-Chief to Lloyd George was invited to report on transport. He recommended that a proper syste of tactical light railways should be built along the Front in advance of standard gauge railways. Basing their designs very much on the Péchot originals, track in the very un-British gauge of 60cm and portable rail in lengths of 10m were ordered. The War Department Light Railways WDLR were born.

A 16mm model Baldwin 4-6-0T built by Wrightscale and a Hunslet 4-6-0T built by the late Henry Holdsworth show some of the War Department Light Railway locomotives.

After World War 1, most of the stock of the WDLR was sold off and found its way on to civilian lines. The Baldwin 4-6-0 was one example, and many of the characteristic bogie wagons worked at quarries and small narrow-gauge lines. German stock was taken for reparations. Any enthusiast for narrow gauge will know of surviving examples of the Feldbahn 0-4-0 D-lok.
What did not appear for sale were the original Péchot designs - the wonderful 0-4-4-0 Péchot-Bourdon locomotive and the rugged bogie wagons. The French army loved them too much!  During the darkest days of Wolrd War 2, all but two of these precious locomotives was scrapped in an occupied Europe desperate for metal. It is this which explains the strange dearth of the most interesting and influential rrailway material - artillerie 88/Péchot system 60cm railways.
If you want to know more, read
'Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the trenches' - Sarah Wright Birse Press 2014
Also Light Railways of the First World War WJK Davies David and Charles 1967
'Book of the Somme' Malcolm Brown IWM/Pan 1997
The fascinating work of Gen L.C. Jackson in the Trench Warfare Department should appear in a forth coming book by John Mason Sneddon. Watch this space!

View from the trenches

Autumn is approaching. What did it feel like in France one hundred years ago? At the end of September 1916, the German assault on Verdun was stayed, though by no means defeated. The attack in the Somme - which might be regarded as a counter-attack - had chewed off some ground; not much considering the human cost. In a previous blog, I claimed that the Germans learned fast. Tactics which might be successful in terms of trenches overrun and prisoners taken one day ceased to work on the next. The French were also learning. The year before, they might have sent waves of their best troops over open ground to be scythed by enemy fire. (Losses in the Vosges in 1915 hd been truly sickening.) This year, their losses were less and their territory gained was greater compared with the British.

Ruins of Dompierre, just south of the Somme canal, close to Froissy. French soldiers carrying posts and barbed wire to set up new defenses in territory they have gained. From 'Illustration' courtesy M.D. Wright

Slightly earlier, Rudyard Kipling toured the French  Western Front. This is what he heard when he arrived.
'Something bellowed across the folds of the wooded hills; something grunted in reply. Something passed over head, querulously but not without dignity. Two clear fresh barks joined the chorus, and a man moved lazily in the direction of the guns.
"Well, suppose we come and take a look at things a little" said the commmanding officer.
There was a specimen tree. A ladder ran up it to a platform. What little wind there was swayed the tall top, and the ladder creaked like a ship's gangway. A telephone bell tinkled fifty feet (16m) overhead. Two invisible guns spoke fervently for half a minute and broke off like terriers choked on a leash. We climbed till the topmost platform swayed sicklily beneath us. Here one found a rustic shelter, almost of the tea party pattern, a table, a map and a little window wreathed with living branches that gave one a view of the Devil and all his works. It was a stretch of open country, with a few sticks like old tooth-brushes which had once been tree round a farm. The rest was yellow grass, barren to all appearance as the veldt.

Barren grass with a few sticks like old toothbrushes. French soldiers advancing, Somme sector. From 'Illustration' magazine courtesy M.D. Wright

"The grass is yellow because they have used gas here" said the officer. "Their trenches (he meant the Germans') - you can see for yourself"

German 105 howitzer which had originally been concealed in a house. Of prewar design, these were relatively easily transported. They fired a 105mm shell, a nasty response to the French standard 75mm gun. It had an angle of fire of up to 45 degrees; I suspect that improvised positioning has increased this angle! From 'Illustration' Courtesy M.D. Wright

The guns in the wood began again. They seemed to have no relation to the regularly spaced burst of smoke along a little smear in the desert earth two thousand yards away (just under 2000m) - no connection at all to the strong voices overhead coming and going. It was as impersonal as the drive of the sea along a breakwater. Suddenly a seventh wave broke and spread the shape of its foam like a plume overtopping all the others.
"That's one of our torpilleurs - what you call trench-sweepers" said the observer among the whispering leaves.
A little sunshine flooded the stricken landscape and made its chemincal yellow look more foul. A detachment of men moved out on the road which ran towards the French trenches and tehn vanished at the foot of a little rise. Other men appeared, moving towards us with that concentration of purpose and bearing shown in both Armies when - dinner is at hand! They looked as though they had been digging hard'

At the farm of Bois l'Abbe, Somme sector, French troops are digging in. At a rakish angle in the foreground lies a section of prefabricated railway track. The beautiful pressed steel edges of the sleepersproclaim this to be Pachot-designed track. From Illustration magazine courtesy M.D. Wright

Kipling was describing the Verdun sector but there is much that could apply to the Somme as well, the noise, threat of gas and the very present killer explosions and shrapnel. There was relentless digging in and shoring-up of defences by day and long watches of the night, all relieved only by refreshments and humour.
The monotony of killing was deadly. On his tour of the Western Front, Kipling quoted a French officer. "It's the eating-up of a people" He looked at the German lines. "They come and fill the trenches and they die and they die and they send more and those die." He added "We do the same of course."
Yet change was on the way. You, gentle reader, will have noticed all the gunfire in these descriptions. Each French 75mm shell-burst meant two thirds of kilo of high explosive in a metal shell. Each 105mm howitzer had a kilo, also wrapped in a metal envelope ... and these were just the basic guns. Larger ones had shells the size of a person. Proper trench warfare required thousands of tonnes of ammo daily. Thousands of tonnes of ammunition could be dragged in by thousands of pack-animals or worse still humans acting as pack animals. The alternative, given the technology of the time, were trench railways, as originally devised by Colonel Péchot, then seized upon and improved by foe and friend alike. This history is more fully described in 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the trenches'
From the top down, Germans learned most quickly. Their trench railways were improving. Petrol-powered locotractors were used at the Front, and a new, sophisticated generation of steam locomotives were on the drawing board. The French, too were learning. To take one example, the supply  of beleagered Verdun was assured not just by the lorries of the Voie Sacrée connecting Bar-le-Duc with Verdun, but by the trains of the narrow-gauge Meusien railway. Quadruple tracks were required for all the traffic. Likewise, bitter experience was raising their game in the trenches.
Meanwhile, the British were just beginning to learn, though we believe the process too far too long.

Somme 1916 a compliment to the Germans

In my last blog, commemorating the incredible spirit shown by both Allied soldiers and their opposition on the Somme, I called the German resistance a Hydra. This was meant as the highest compliment. Yes, I know that the Hydra which faced the Greek hero Heracles in the marshes of Lerne has not had a good press. 

Our brave French boys, snatching their breath during the Somme offensive. THere is something of the Heracles about them. Photo courtesy MD Wright from Illustration

We all love Heracles. He was strong and handsome. He took the side of the poor. He was a good friend. He didn't have things all his own way. He appreciated the charms of the ladies. The Hydra, on the other hand, was not very attractive. It lived in the wilds and its diet was creratures it had poisoned with its venomous teeth. Once Heracles attacked it, it became even less attractive, sprouting new heads whenever one was cut off. It was the stuff of nightmares.

German prisoners taken in th efirst few days of fighting Photo courtesy MD Wright from Illustration

But let me say a few things in the favour of the Hydra. Heracles attacked it, not the other way around. It couldn't help being ugly. Let Nassim Nicholas Taleb, one of our most interesting politico-economico-philosophers defend it. It may seem to 'wake up, overreact and overcompensate to stressors and damage.... the sucker game is to try to repress (it)'... As 'the Irish revolutionary song' goes:
'The higher you build your barricades, the stronger we become'
For the Hydra actually become stronger with opposition, unless, like Heracles, more astute ruses are found by its assailant.
The Allied attack on the Somme was something like a dim Heracles. Against them, the Germans had relatively few troops - activity was at Verdun in the West and Russia in the East. In the Peronne sector, there was a total 15.6 kilometres of Feldbahn, even in August, well after the Somme offensive had started. (My source 'Heeresfeldbahnen' by Alfred Gottwadlt p 111) This supply system was vital for provisions, ammunition and reinforcements. Territory was taken and prisoners in the first bloody days. Reinforcements were slow to come - the High Command had to ease off pressure in the Verdun sector to free up troops and equipment. For a while, the Germans were thrown on their own resources. Their orders from above were not to cede territory. They learned new tricks of camouflage. For example, they had always concealed their observers in high towers. These were an obvious target for enemy artillery, so they took to the woods.

The remains of the sucrerie/sugar refinery at Dompierre above Froissy in early July 1916 The French have just taken it. The building has been completely destroyed, mainly to evict enemy observers and snipers. Painting Francois Flameng Courtesy MD Wright

The British volunteer army had been drilled to advance in formation, bayonets fixed, and so the woods proved excellent strong points for German resistance. Shellfire damaged trees, giving the defenders yet more cover. The Germans had not been specifically trained for this sort of war, but they were willing to learn. The British continued to follow the original strategy and so their attacks were unbelievably sanguine affairs. This was not the fault of the ordinary soldier, but the Heracles rather than Hydra attitude instilled by their training.
When their trenches and artillery were targeted by Allied guns, assisted by 'spotter' aeroplanes, the Germans learned to move out. If a shellhole was the best protection, they went there. If camouflage was needed, they improvised it. A ground sheet rubbed with mud would do.

This German mortar was originally concealed in a house. Its cover has been literally 'blown away' The Germans responded by new strategies of concealment. Courtesy MD Wright 'Illustration'

Guns were moved into farm buildings if necessary. Photographs from the period show the ferocity of the war, how advacing soldiers struggled over broken terrain, how any high building was destroyed, how every building and every path was wrecked in the end.
In due course, the Germans changed strategy again and traded terrain for lives, but that was later.

Over the top Somme July 16

The battlefront had been prepared, the soldiers were in position in their trenches. The objectives were plain on the map. From July 1st, the British Fourth and Fifth Armies, north of the Somme and the French Sixth and Tenth Armies just to the south attacked the German Second Army defending the sector. As I have said in a previous blog, the hamlet of Froissy just east of Albert, straddling the Somme canal was the hinge of the action - Germans a kilometre to the east, British to the north. The immediate objective for the Froissy sector was Dompierre on the plateau east and south of the Somme canal.
The Allies had superior numbers and the benefit of an artillery barrage. They brought up their newly formed aeroplanes. What could go wrong?

French soldiers posed to go over the top. Their equipment is not as bulky as the packs worn by British soldiers. From Illustration magazine Collection M.D. Wright

Plenty it soon turned out. In the original plan, the Allies were going to deploy 45 divisions. There were 30. The British had only half the fire-power of the French. There weren't enough heavy howitzers which could  bring shells crashing down on the heads of the enemy. The British 18 pounder was particularly bad in this respect. It sent too small a charge over too small a trajectory. The British laboured under a further disadvantage. Though they had been in the War for nearly two years, they failed to see the point of battlefield railways, preferring to haul everything by night in  GS wagons or by muleback. Their French Allies were building an extensive network of 60cm gauge, based on the original ideas of Colonel Péchot, to supply their advance, which could quickly supply their guns with ammunition, using far less manpower to better effect.

This railway was pictured at Apedale, Staffs, in 2014. The wagon, to an original 1884 design by Péchot, looks remarkably good for its age, though it has lost some parts. Picture M.D. Wright

Though high explosive packed with shrapnell is lethal to humans in the open, it is not so effective cutting the barbed wire defending a trench. Thus the attackers had a nasty surprise. On the morning of July 1st, German defenses were left surprisingly intact.

The boys who made it! THe lack of shelter is obvious, as is the ominous line of barbed wire. Photo from Illustration magazine courtesy M.D. Wright

With hindsight, we have to admire the courage of attackers and defenders. The attackers walked out of shelter uphill across no-man's-land all the while being strafed by automatic gunfire.  Although the French had learned not to over-burden their infantry, the British sent theirs over the top with each carrying twenty kilos of equipment. British drill had been bayonet practice, not in advancing under fire. The defenders, sheltering from air attack and infantry, put up, in their turn, a fine resistance. Although the territory taken in the first few days was not extensive, the Allies captured the hard bits, the well-defended Front. The territory beyond German defenses seemed agonisingly close. First reports to the newspapers were optimistic. There were pictures of cavalry advancing ready for the break-through. Once across the Front, they could encircle the German defenders to the rear and the war would be won! 
This did not happen. The first day was slow, and every day, progress was slower still. The French, for example, advanced as far as Dompierre in the first few days of fighting. Contemporary photographs show how vicious it was. The bombardment blew up houses, factories and landmarks such as wayside crosses. Roads were reduced to powder. Soldiers are pictured slogging over the scarred earth, sheltering for a rest and a smoke in ruined buildings or trudging forward with materials to build their own defences.
Why was there no break-though? There were many reasons for the Allied failure. The main reason was, of course, the German success. They brought in reinforcements. At the end of a typical hard day's fughting, the Allies expected a respectable advance the next day. Yet by then, the Hydra had grown a new head and faced them with renewed ferocity. Reinforcements were brought in. The Germans learned new tricks. If their trenches were bombed out, they used shell holes for shelter. If there was a threat from the air, they learned to improvise camouflage. German High Command was also learning. They brought in Hindenburg and Ludendorf with a new strategy for the conflict. Rather than clinging on to blood-soaked deserts, the new game was to trade territory for lives.

In the first days, there were quite a number of German prisoners, and many casualties. The Allies assumed that these would mount as the attack continued. This was not to be. From Illustration magazine Collection MD Wright

A very important part of the struggle was the backing they received from their field railways, the Heeresfeldbahn. This dated from a year after Prosper Péchot had persuaded French High Command to adopt the 'artillerie 88' system and at first closely resembled it. Unlike Péchot's superiors, they realised its potential in attack and spent the years between 1889 and 1914 in improvements. Once the War started, improvement and development continued. Thus in contrast with the French who still relied on a few ageing 0-4-4-0 Péchot-Bourdon steam locomotives, the Germans started the War with hundreds of 0-8-0 Brigadelokomotive/Dloks. By summer 1916, they had Benzolloks (internal combustion locomotives) at work whereas most of the French  internal combustion locotracteurs were still on order. In the summer of 1916, the British had yet to create a substantial trench railway system.

This 0-8-0 Dlok offered the German Army sweet innovative technologies with ease in working. Roughly 2000 were built. This fine preserved example  was photographed in 2014 at Apedale, Staffs. MD Wright

The point is, the Germans had the technology and they used it. As importantly, they had been trained to learn from each day's reverses. The Allies might bring in a new weapon, for example the aeroplane and later the tank. These might wreak damage, but only briefly. In the second time of use, the Germans would be ready.
The Somme was, however, in certain ways successful. It relieved some pressure on Verdun; the Germans never broke through down there. In early 1917, they shortened their Front, giving Allies the territory they craved. Did this make the Somme a victory? I doubt it.

What a difference a century makes

The Somme between Bray and Peronne is a tranquil river cutting through chalk hills. Running roughly in parallel is the dreamy Somme canal.  In June, the harvest is being gathered. On Sundays, families go for expeditions in the wood and waters beside the river, or seek shade in the trees which crown the hills. Many take a ride on the little railway of the Upper Somme, the Chemin de fer Froissy-Dompierre CFCD. Green and rural as it is now, it was a theatre of war in 1916.

Place André Audinot, Péronne, dominated by its old fort. This town, defending the Upper Somme was the primary objective of the Somme offensive. Ironically, it was taken without bloodshed in 1917 when Hindenburg shortened teh German line.

In 1916, the Allies faced the Central Powers across a Front stretching from Switzerland to the Channel with the territ. The Somme river was the boundary between the British and French sectors while the Front ran west of Dompierre on the plateau of Santerre. My geography teacher would have called the Santerre a dip slope, declining gently from an escarpment.  She might also have added 'anyone trying to attack from the west would be struggling up a hill, in full view of the enemy' The enemy would also have a grandstand view of any preparations for a battle so it would be hard to keep the element of surprise.
The Allies, in short had rather stumbled into this battle. The British wanted a position north of the Somme because that kept them in touch with the Channel ports. The French therefore had to be where they were. The British had agreed that their large new army of volunteers would be battle-ready by mid 1916. The French were only too keen to let them share the fighting. In the winter of 1915, the two chiefs of staff had decided on an offensive in the Somme area in late summer 1916. The greatest strategic target of the area was Péronne; the real hope was for a breakthrough at the front. The Allies could then encircle the enemy and move into undefended territory.
The situation then became complicated. In late February 1916, the Germans launched a massive attack on Verdun (a more important target than Péronne) and the French were keen to provide a distraction. Therefore you could say that the choice of the Somme as a battleground was a product of hope and fear - fear of being cut off from home, fear of losing a strategic target nearly 300 km away and the vague hope of a breakthrough.
In our article in May's edition of Continental Modeller, and in our book 'Colonel Péchot: tracks to the trenches' there are some helpful maps.

South bank of the Somme July 1916 looking towards Curlu, one agonising kilometre east of Cappy. Illustration from 'Illustration' courtesy M. D. Wright

We should have the greatest respect for the soldiers and support staff who had this impossible task - also for the smaller force of Germans who suffered too but gave a good account of themselves. 
For the British, the Battle of the Somme began on July 1st. For the French, it began earlier. They had been committed in depth since August 1914. Among other things, the two years between 1914 and 16  had taught them the value of transport. The small nucleus of 60cm supply railways designed by Prosper Péchot was expanded and updated.
To recognise the campaign, ongoing over two years, APPEVA, the organisation behind the CFCD, held a centenary commemoration from 5th to 8th May this year. It was an atmospheric recreation, with locomotives of the time and people in period costume. Train rides took the public up to the plateau; a short and pleasant ride in 2016 though the journey for the infantry of 1916 seemed neither short nor pleasant.

A Péchot 'wagon-plat' waits by the Somme canal, CFCD May 2016. It is in remarkably good condition considering its 110-odd years. The brake operating wheels have been removed; the brakesman has to apply and release the brakes using an operating thread on the bogie. Just seen, a pair of bogie-bolsters are carrying lengths of prefabricated track.

The Battle of the Somme only recaptured a small area, and left a heavy toll. Many go to visit the extensive cemeteries with a mix of sadness and wonder. Over this and the subsequent years of the war, gradually lessons were learned, some more quickly than others.

Baldwin Gas Mechanical 50hp locotractor with admiring British officers! Versions appeared served French and US front-lines. The design was one of a new breed; unlike a steam locomotive which advertised its presence with smoke and sparks, the BGM was relatively discreet. The original locomotive would have had a fuel tank balanced on its 'nose' and  large lamps front and rear.

Modern warfare could not be sustained by gallantry and discipline alone. Initially reluctant to use trench railways the British started their War Department Light Railways WDLR) programme. More use was made of internal combustion engines. Tracked vehicles - tanks - were introduced to sweep away barbed wire and to cross trenches. The French introduced new techniques of attack - meticulously planned bombardment and suitably trained troops.  The Germans too were learning fast so that for a while there was a real arms race; the entry of the USA into the War eventually swung it for the Allies.
Thanks to commemorative events such as this, the British public are finding out about the vast 60cm network of the WDLR which was built to service the Front. Books such as Roy Link's WDLR Album and my biography of Péchot are also contributing to general awareness.

Hunslet Quarry Tanks - Nearly finished!

Hi, after a holiday I have finally had a fortnight without interuption to get on with the second batch of Hunslets.  The end is in sight.  The photo shows where the eleven locos are at.  All the chassis run on air, all the platework is now finished and most of the boiler and burner parts are made.

6th June. The stage the second batch is at.

What is left is to fit the gas valve pipe and burner to the boiler, then finish the boiler by fitting the regulator, make the steam pipe and complete the steam circuit by fitting the lubricator. After that, make and fit the safety valve and pressure gauge,  make and fit the water-feed clack and fill pipework,  assemble the firebox, safety valve and bonnet castings, steam test the loco,  re-fit all the platework and pin the cranks to the axles,  strip, prime, and paint - FINISH.
How long will this take, about a month?  So next week I will e-mail  the interested and see if they still want a loco.
Do look at our last post some rather atmospheric pictures from the Somme.

Somme Centennial

The Battle of the Somme needs no introduction but unlike the British, the French commemorate the beginning of the battle in May rather than July. This explains why we were at the Chemin de Fer Froissy-Dompierre from May 5th to 8th this year. The celebration at the CFCD was a double annuiversary; the centenary of the battle of the Somme and the 45th anniversary of the resurrection of this unique 60cm railway.
The railway was rescued by Jacques Pradayroil and others who formed APPEVA and the Blondin family who for two generations (and counting) have driven the railway to the success that it is today. It is a major site for those interested in the history of the 'Soixante' with an emphasis on military equipment. Even more interestingly, parts of the railway are still on the original alignment set down in the First World War.
We first encountered the railway in the early Eighties before it became so familiar. Luckily, in spite of major investment in a modern museum the railway still holds a lot of its essential character. It was built to move material from the canal de Somme up the steep valley side on to the plain above. To do this it utilises two-stage zigzags and a tunnel (added in the Twenties). When we think that a single mile of Front when quiet required at least 80 tonnes of basic stores a day, (plus engineering supplies) we begin to see how busy such a railway would have been.

May morning 2016 at the CFCD, Somme canal to one side, locomotives including in steam to the other. Photo Malcolm Wright

The atmosphere of this photo captures something of the supply end of a trench railway. Barges on the Somme canal would bring up supplies which were transhipped here before being moved up to forward supply dumps. From there, trains would move at night by petrol power to the Front. 60cm gauge at this, safer, end of the line tended to be properly engineered. At the forward end, rail was laid, relaid and often repaired in a matter of hours.

Kerr Stuart Joffre 0-6-0T  from the West Lancashire Railway visiting the CFCD in May 2016. Photograph Malcolm Wright

Although, thanks to Prosper Péchot, the French had a lead in siege train technology in the 1890s, the Germans as second adopters overtook them. It was the Germans who started the war ready with 1000 miles of track and corresponding material.. The scramble to defend Paris and then the needs of trench warfare had them hurrying to update. In the autumn of 1914, they placed large orders. To the existing Péchot system bogies and wagons were added a simplified Decauville design. As the advance of the central powers threatened their own industrial areas, many orders had to be placed abroad.
The design of 0-6-0 tank engine in the photo above was made both in France (Decauville) and by Kerr Stuart in England. Two differences are obvious even to the non-specialist. The English cousin has a spark arrestor chimney and the platework over the tanks results in a 'three-stepped' side view. Its French relation had a straight chimney and more angular platework, for all the world looking like four 'steps'.
For another chance to see this little darling, the West Lancashire Railway PR4 6SP lies between Southport and Preston and is open on Sundays and special occasions between Easter to October.

The British sector of the Front lay to the north, on the far side of the Somme river. In spring and summer of 1916, they had almost no trench railways, apart from heroic improvisations by the 'boots on the ground' and a system they had inherited from the French. During the battle of the Somme, the War Department Light Railways were formed. The new Directorate of Light Railways placed vast orders. As British engineering firms had their hands full of French orders, they immediately looked overseas to the great Baldwin Works of Philadelphia, USA, among others.

Baldwin 4-6-0T from the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway pictured at the CFCD in May 2016. Photo Malcolm Wright

A total of 486 of these Baldwin 4-6-0T locomotives were supplied to the WDLR during the war.  As with human combatants, many were irreparably damaged by the long and horrific conflict. The survivors were sold off during the years of peace and served in fields, mines and quarries, many abroad. If only this restored locomotive could talk!
If you missed a chance to take a train at Froissy, she will be back at the Leighton Buzzard light railway this summer.
During the celebrations, Malcolm took his model Baldwin 4-6-0 and photographed it beside her big sister, much to the credit of both.

We much enjoyed our days at the CFCD commemoration. Malcolm had brought along an exhibition of 16mm scale locomotives and rolling stock, as used during the First World War, both British and French. We have mentioned the Baldwin steam locomotive. He also took along his Baldwin locotractor, developed to slip unseen to forward areas. Those wreaths of smoke, though atmospheric, made steam locomotives a prime target for enemy guns! He brought along a variety of wagons, both French military and WDLR, made from Wrightscale kits. He had come along with what he thought was a life-time supply of Péchot wagon kits; visitors were so delighted to see the models appearing beside the prototypes that Malcolm sold out! He has had to order more.
The photo below is a homage to the Péchot System. Sarah was beside Malcolm with her book 'Colonel Péchot: Tracks to the trenches' and was delighted with the many opportunities to discuss his work with people who could actually see examples outside! 

A Baldwin 4-6-0T in steam heads up a train outside the CFCD engine shed. Wreathed in drifting smoke,can just be seen a pair of Péchot bogies carrying portable track. Behind again is a Péchot flat wagon with its distinctive  stanchions and behind that is a Péchot wagon carrying a newly built reconstruction of an inspection vehicle built in the 1890s. May 1016. Photo Malcolm Wright

Outside the exhibition area can be seen a true homage to Péchot's work. When a French army base closed its 60cm gauge network, the CFCD was given a number of Péchot wagons and other material, dating back to the 1890s! It is a tribute to the resilience of the design that it could be put back to use. Bogie bolsters still carry 10m lengths of portable track as they would originally. The ten-tonne Péchot wagon in the photograph still looks good for its age. Just to prove its load-bearing capacity, the Péchot wagon behind has been rebuilt to a Belle Epoque design as an  Inspection Coach as used by the French high command and President. This was just finished for the May commemorations and we were able to watch this train leave the station and proceed up the line with Sarah onboard (a real priviledge). She was able to watch the original wheel brakes being screwed down as originally designed. It may have been a slightly rough ride for the President of France, but he was truly safe!
Come to Froissy to see this historic material . If you are in the west of France, you can see Péchot wagons in service at the chemin de fer de lac de Rillé, another place worth visiting. It has been mentioned in previous blogs.

CFCD May 2016. In authentic French costumes of the 1916 period, a re-enactment society pose beside a model of Etampes station commemorating its contribution to the War. Photo Malcolm Wright

This photo gives an idea of the hall devoted to models. We are just off to the right, in a good position to catch the re-enactment society in its pose beside the TEE exhibition. At the left were exhibits from the Confrerie des Amateurs de Vapeur Vive which put steam of the first world war period into historic context.  The poilus and  NCO in the photograph represent the infantry and Alpine troops as well as the soldiers who contested the area. As you can see, the French army greatcoat is pinned up during the day for ease of movement but at night could be opened out to provide a blanket for the legs. The coats are French horizon grey, similar to trench railway liveries of the period.The soldier far left wears a 1916 uniform, far right the uniform is a modern reconstruction (not the brighter blue) The bright red trousers have been abandoned in favour of sober grey - for obvious reasons.
Though uniforms and conditions improved during the war, French losses, not to mention other Allies and Central Powers, were terrible. When visiting the Little Railway of the Upper Somme, (one of the names of the CFCD) there are a number of memorials to the fallen which should be visited.All in all, this was quite an experience.